Missing on Christmas
by Cold Feet
Summary: Hermione is too swept up in work to be happy. She disappears into a world where only the desperate survive. FULL SUMMARY INSIDE!


A/N- OK for those who like happy stories, this isn't for you. And yes I realize that the wonderful J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter and all of the relating characters. And yes I realize that it is FAR to early to be writing Christmas stories, but oh well. And the full summary: Hermione and her family were ready to celebrate a great Christmas, when stress takes over her. She can't attend the celebration and leaves the city, and soon she finds herself in a world where only the desperate survive. Ok moving on....  
  
Hermione sat staring blankly at the page in front of her. She was supposed to be reading the last known information about a criminal, but she just couldn't. She just couldn't focus, for reasons unknown. She looked down at her desk and sighed. Parchment was strewn about the small office, her file cabinets were over-flowing with open files and several magical instruments were lying around. The gold sign where her name was displayed, that usually was one of the prime things on her desk, was lost in the rampant chaos of seasonal mischief. The large window opposite her desk had its blinds drawn, but between the two, you could see the soft snow falling down onto the street below. There were traces of Christmas in the office too, a small wreath was hanging on her door and there were singing cards on a shelf. She had pushed aside all the dusty trinkets that usually resided there to make room for the small bit of cheer. Their bright cheer looked like some sort of an effort to lighten the dark office, but had failed.  
  
"Ding dong merrily on high, in heaven bells are ringing, Ding dong verily the sky is riv'n with angels singing," the all chimed together. Hermione set down the piece of parchment. Blindly, she reached for the picture frame that lay face down on top of everything else. She picked it up and ran her sore fingers over the cool metal that held the picture that always brightened her face. Staring back at her were 3 17-year-old faces, smiling and waving. One had unruly black hair and a sly handsome glint in his eye. A fading scar was barely visible between the long fringe that covered his forehead. The other had stout red hair and laughing blue eyes. His freckles were bright in the glaring sun. In between the two of them was a girl. She had shoulder length frizzy brown hair, and bright brown eyes. She looked happy, extremely happy.  
  
'Happy....can I remember happy?' Hermione mused to herself.  
  
Hermione stepped out of the building into the cold blowing snow. She looked up from her feet and into the busy street that lay ahead. The stores had faint gold glowing lights inside, and wreaths hung on almost every door. There was a great band of carolers coming down the street, their voices carrying though the crisp evening air. The soft sound of someone tapping on a snare drum came from the center of the group.  
  
'Come, they told me..." the chanted together. It made her smile watching a store owner pop out and hand them some money. She wrapped her scarf about her neck tighter and walked slowly down the street. There were children and students running about the street, rolling balls of snow and throwing them at one another. There were parents coming out of stores, their arms laden with boxes and bags. She walked until she stood in front of an old toy store. From the outside, it looked more like a cottage, with its wooden exterior and old-style writing on the window in front. Inside, there were families' wall to wall, pulling things down from shelves or from displays for children to see. The all seemed to be happy, even the toys seemed to smile with them. She kept walking and past a large tea shop. Out of the corner of her eye, she was couples sitting at little wrought iron tables and drinking steaming coffees. They all gazed lovingly into one-another's eyes. She stopped and looked as a man near the front window reached into his pocket and produced a small red box. He held it in front of the lady across from him, and her face became lit with joy.  
  
She hustled past the stores, keeping her head down the hide she sadness. Their cheer was too much for her. Silently, she slipped into a back alley and leaned against the cold wet wall. Trash was littered about her feet, and there was a lump in the corner which may have been a sleeping person. But her surroundings could do nothing to that joy that she had just seem. The image of the man was boring into her memory. She opened her eyes and looked up to the sky. The clouds were grey and a soft wave of snow continued to fall. Hermione had to talk to someone, anyone right now. She thought that she would have looked like that when Ron had asked her that, but now that happiness was gone. It had been gone for a long time. And he was one of the only people that would listen.  
  
But, yet, she knew there was someone else, someone who she hadn't seen in a long time. Hermione even wondered if that someone still remembered her face. She felt their cold icy kissed on her face as she pictured St. Mungo's Hospital in her head. There was a short pop, and she disappeared. 


End file.
